Now that Hamlin Park has been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places I've decided to do a short series of the
history of the neighborhood. This information comes directly from the National
Register nomination that Preservation Studios completed. Check back for
additional installations in the series in the coming weeks. Stay up to date with all things Hamlin Park by liking the Hamlin Park Historic District on Facebook.
The Architecture
The Hamlin Park Historic District developed rather
quickly, with most of homes and commercial buildings built between 1895 and the
early 1920s. The buildings in the area north of Northland Avenue was well
underway about fifteen years prior to the Driving Park section (south of
Northland) because the land laid dormant until 1912 when it was sold for
residential development. As a result of this short development era, the
architecture is very similar throughout Hamlin Park. The form, size, materials,
fenestration, and architectural details are often repeated, but vary enough so
that homes often appear as individual designs.
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| This home on Hedley Place repeats nearly a dozen times on the street, with slight variations |
The majority of the buildings were constructed by
local builders who utilized existing plans or pattern books for the homes,
which reflect popular architectural styles of the time. Homes are typically
sited on lots approximately 30x100 feet and often rectangular in plan. Common
features that repeat on homes throughout the district include bay windows,
large open porches, dormers, wood porch columns, and leaded glass windows. Most
of the homes are two and a half stories with gable or hip roofs, but smaller
Bungalow style homes with low-slung side gabled roofs are present throughout.
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| This stately Victorian on Humboldt Parkway was likely adapted from a pattern book of the period and repeats at least two times throughout Buffalo, with slight changes to fenestration and detailing |
On primary thoroughfares like Northland and East
Delavan Avenues, there are small-scale commercial buildings present. These
typical corner store buildings of the early 20th century
feature storefronts on the first floor and flats on the second floor. A small
grouping of homes even received one-story storefront additions that often
served as barbershops or bakeries, while maintaining the original home behind.
Several larger commercial buildings are scattered
throughout Hamlin Park, such as the three-story masonry commercial/residential
building on Oakgrove and Hughes Avenues, which seems to tower over the two
story homes surrounding it.
Churches that fit well within the scale of the residential
blocks are also scattered throughout the neighborhood, with the much larger
ones located prominently on Humboldt Parkway. These churches are constructed of
brick and/or stone and represent typical designs of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. The
smaller churches are typically Gothic Revival, while the larger churches take
cues from Neo-Classicism and Renaissance styles.
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| St. Francis De Sales Church on Humboldt Parkway and Northland Avenue |
The Streets of Hamlin Park
Jefferson Avenue is
a primary north-south street that begins at Seneca Street and terminates at
Main Street, just as Forest Lawn Cemetery begins. Jefferson Avenue was once a
prominent commercial strip with an electric streetcar line that ran its full
length. Although its popularity has waned, many commercial buildings like
former bakeries, pharmacies, and theaters remain. The portion of Jefferson
Avenue that defines Hamlin Park’s western boundary is mostly individual homes,
but there are several apartment buildings and small-scale commercial buildings.
Just outside the boundaries, south of East Ferry Street, the amount of
commercial buildings on Jefferson Avenue increases significantly.
Lonsdale Road and Wohlers Avenue are
located in the Driving Park portion of Hamlin Park, between the east (Humboldt
Parkway) and west (Jefferson Avenue) boundaries of the district. Homes on the
east-west streets that begin at Lonsdale Road face their respective streets and
as a result, homes are only located on the west side of Lonsdale. Setbacks are
uniform down Lonsdale (approximately fifteen feet) and low, lush hedges define
most of the lots. Several mature trees remain down both sides of the street and
curbs are a mix of sandstone and granite.
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| Looking west down Butler Avenue at Wohlers Avenue |
Wohlers Avenue, similar to Lonsdale Road, runs from
East Ferry Street to Northland Avenue and homes on the east-west streets that
intersect it, face their respective streets. Originally, homes were meant to
face Wohlers for its entire length, but the site plan changed so that lots only
faced it between East Ferry Street and Butler Avenue. As one moves north on
Wohlers, the number of trees increases and creates a wonderful tree canopy that
almost envelops the whole street.
Pansy Place, Daisy Place, Blaine and Oakgrove
Avenues were laid out by August Hager, who was
clearly influenced by the design Frederick Law Olmstead created for the
Parkside neighborhood to the northwest. Pansy and Daisy Place frame the
picturesque Viola Park and were named after Hager’s favorite flowers.
Oakgrove avenue extends north from East Delavan
Avenue on a slight angle, intersects the east end of Blaine, and crosses
Humboldt Parkway. Blaine Avenue is a standard rectilinear block until it
crosses Oakgrove, where rather than continue through to Humboldt Parkway, it
curves dramatically south to meet East Delavan Avenue instead. This change in
the street’s direction was likely done to minimize the interruptions of cross
streets through the block of homes that face Humboldt Parkway.
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| One of few commercial buildings nestled in the neighborhood rather than on a primary commercial street |
Elton and Victor Place are
both dead-end streets with less than a dozen homes each. The fenestration
pattern and design of the buildings are fundamentally the same and typically
only vary in cladding materials or porch design. On Elton Place, there are less
homes on the west side of the street than the east side because the Scajaquada
Creek runs below, hidden by culverts that capped it c.1920.
Glendale Place, Eastwood Place, and Loring
Avenue were designed to be sympathetic to Olmsted’s
Humboldt Parkway. Rather than cutting straight from east to west, the streets
begin to curve north as they approach the Parkway. As Eastwood and Loring
continue past the boundary and across Humboldt Parkway, the streets reverse
their curve, which creates a slow and graceful ‘S’ shape. Although the beauty
of this transition is largely lost at the pedestrian level due to the intrusive
Kensington Expressway, it can still be seen from above.
Hughes Avenue, Blaine Avenue, and Hedley
Place represent the shift from the curving streets of the
eastern portion of the Hager Division, to the standardized rectangular blocks
in the western portion. Mature trees tower over Hughes Avenue between Jefferson
and Meech, standing over fifty feet tall. As one continues east on Hughes, the
height of the trees diminish, but the density increases as branches extend over
the street to meet in the center.
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| The massive trees on Hughes Avenue that are original to the residential development of the area |
The same density and tree canopy that is present on
Hughes is repeated the full length of Blaine Avenue and Hedley Place to the
south. The Stone Farmhouse at 60 Hedley Place stands out among the other homes
on the street and dates to the mid-19th century.
Composed of eighteen-inch thick limestone walls, the building stands as a
testament to the agrarian past of the area before residential interests took
off. It was recently listed individually on the National Register of Historic
Places and is currently undergoing restoration to serve meeting space for the
Hamlin Park Community & Taxpayers Association.
Hedley Place derives its name from Charles Harits
Hedley, who was an instrumental figure in developing the Main-Humboldt area of
Hamlin Park. Hedley served as treasurer of the Parkway Land Company and
when he purchased this tract in the late nineteenth century, there wasn’t a
single home on the land, which the exception of the Stone Farmhouse.
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| The rehabilitated Stone Farmhouse at 60 Hedley Place from c.1820 to 1860 |
East Delavan Avenue and Northland Avenue completely
bisect Hamlin Park and feature mostly residential buildings, with small-scale
commercial buildings. Both streets continue past the eastern boundary of
Humboldt Parkway, but Northland Avenue is disconnected from its eastern portion
by the Expressway.
Many of the small-scale commercial buildings were
purpose built from the start with storefronts on the first floor and flats on
the second floor. As the availability of lots diminished and commercial
development increased, some homeowners added one-story storefront additions.
The storefront buildings present on Northland Avenue are located at Hager
Street; two were designed as storefront buildings and the other two were
converted from existing residences.
A concentration of small commercial buildings on
East Delavan Avenue begins at the intersection of Oakgrove Avenue. There is a
storefront building on each corner dating to the early 20th century
and several storefront addition buildings adjacent. At the intersection of East
Delavan and Daisy Place there is another cluster of storefront buildings from
the same time period.
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| A beautiful and underutilized commercial building on East Delavan Avenue |
Beverly Road, Viola Park, Donaldson Road, and
Brunswick Boulevard each has an original landscape
feature that defined the street. Beverly Road and Brunswick Boulevard have a
planted median down the center of the street, approximately four feet wide. The
median on Beverly Road runs the length of the street, but is only present on a
small section of Brunswick Boulevard, between Jefferson and Lonsdale. Both
medians feature small trees, shrubbery and potted plants.
Donaldson Road, similarly to Blaine Avenue, changes
as one moves from west to east. The first block of Donaldson is a standard
rectangular street, but once it crosses Wohlers Avenue and begins to terminate,
the design changes. Donaldson Road turns north at a ninety-degree angle and
meets Northland Avenue rather than cutting through to Humboldt Parkway. At the
turning point there is a simple landscaped circle, about fifty feet across. The
street could not continue past this point for two reasons; the Scajaquada Creek
is located directly below and it would have come too close to the former St.
Francis De Sales Church and School (demolished) on Humboldt Parkway.
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| The planted circle on Donaldson, just above the now hidden Scajaquada Creek |
The street was named after prominent Buffalo banker
Robert S. Donaldson. He was a self-made man who rose in the ranks of the Erie
County Savings bank from office boy to president, serving the company for 64
years. Donaldson was a conservative, who seemed to always make the wisest
decisions to secure the future of the bank. During the years prior to the
Depression, his conservative choices enabled the bank to survive the market
crash in 1929.
Viola Park is the street that best illustrates
Hager’s attempt to incorporate nature into his street design. Located at the
center of the brick paved street is an elliptical park, approximately one
hundred-fifty feet long and about forty feet wide. Homes on either side of
Viola face the miniature park and have generous setbacks compared to those
streets around it. Just like Pansy and Daisy Place, Hager named Viola Park
after one of his favorite flowers.
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| The elliptical shaped park at the center of Hager's Viola Park |
Hamlin Road, Butler Avenue, and Goulding Avenue are
bisected by Wohlers Avenue and begin at the intersection of Lonsdale Avenue and
continue to Humboldt Parkway where they terminate. Residents of Hamlin Park
originally enjoyed a view down these blocks that ended with the mature trees of
Humboldt Parkway that appeared almost as a forest in the distance. The density
and integrity of these streets remains largely intact, but the view of the
Parkway is no more due to the Kensington Expressway.
Click here for Part I in the series.
Click here for Part I in the series.
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